Stocking blank and method of knitting



Jan. 15, 1952 c, M L 2,582,756

STOCKING BLANK AND METHOD OF KNITTING Filed Dec. 6, 1946 2 SHEETS'SHEET 1 JNVENTOR. I MZzw/VEZZQZ" Jan. 15, 1952 c, MILLER 2,582,756

STOCKING BLANK AND METHOD OF KNITTING Filed Dec. 6, 1946 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 INVENTOR. Mar Z97 5y& zls" 772 7 Patented Jan. 15, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT QEFlCE Max G; Miller; Cumberland, R. 1.; Ida L. Miller executrix of said- Max Gurtis Miller, deceased Application December a, 1946, Serial No. 714,562

21 Claims. 1 The present invention relates to an improved hosiery heel and to a method of knitting the same.

The heel structure and method herein" disclosed as embodying in a; preferred" form the several features of the invention; are particularly, although by no means ex'clusively adapted for use in the manufacture of womens hosiery of the general type produced on" flat full-fashioned hosiery machines;- 7

One of the most" difii'cult problems encountered in the manufacture of fi'ill ia'shioned' or shaped womens hosiery, i's' inthe construction of a heel which will be properly fitted to the foot, is of goodappearance,.and which is at. the same time capable of being manufactured in an efficient and economical manner on present available commercial fullafashioned hosiery machines. Full-fashioned hosiery is normally constructed with a so-called English or full-fashionedheel, of which the chief characteristic is the provision of two rectangular heeltabs which form the heel knitted as continua-tionsof the leg fabric, but without knittingon the instep; and which: are later cined along their inner edges and across the instep with a first course" of foot fabric. In a heel of this charactenvthe wales of the heel tabs are arranged at right angles-to the first ccurseof knitting of the foot, which necessitates the use of a separate manually performed-looping operation in order to connect this first course of foot knitting with the heel: tabs; Heels of this type are-produced for the most part by atwo machinesystem which includes the legger on: which the leg and heel tabportions of the blank are knitted, and the footer to which the blank is transferred for the knitting of the foot. The cost ct producing a stocking of this type and: in the manner described, isrelatively high, and has led to various eiiorts to: simplify and improve the-manufacturing process as, for example, by" the knitting of the entireblank including leg, heel areas and foot on'a single-machine; leaving only a looping operation to be performedby manual labor.

Efforts have been made also to produce a shaped hosiery blank in a continuous knitting operation; which will include heel areas or tabs which are'of a substantially conventional shape, but so constructed and arranged as to present the terminal Wale loops: thereof along the inner edges of the: tabs thus produced; so that the first course or foot'fabric may Ice-knitted thereto without the necessity'for the: usual manual transfer or'loopi'ng operationz It has beenfound,- however, that intricate mechanisms and. attach" 2 ments and a substafiti'ai complication of themachine controls are required for the production of hosiery thanks of this description.

It is a principal object of th'e'mvention" fie provide a heel for a shaped hosiery blank which is of novel construction having a novel airicl 1mproved arrangement of the" cooperating fabric areas, which is shapedmore accuratn'y to the human foot, which is" capable of being produced as part of an integral unit with the ankle and foot portions of the hosiery bl'ar'ikbyc'dntinubus knitting and with an unbroken selvage wale extending from" the ankle" around the heel and along the root at each edge of the Blank; which is of strong construction, and which is particu larly adapted to present apleasing and corrinie'rcially acceptable pattern of the knitted lbops' and fabric areas formedthereby.

It is a further object of the inventien reprevide a novel and practicable method of kni the shaped hosiery heel of theprese'nt ihve'nnen; and of which the several steps are capable of being simply and efiiciently carried" o'utorf exist ing full-fashioned legg'er type machines, and with relatively simple changes and additions to the machine. v v

In accordance' with' the invention it is; proposed to substantially changetlie relationship of: the several cooperating ankle, instep, heel and foot portions of a shaped hosiery blank;

In accordance with a featureof the invention, the upper heel portion of the blank is formed with left and right upper heel areas and an in step areainter'posed therebetween, the upper heel areas and the instep area be ng sh ped tn produce a fabric blank of increasing width. In the preferred form of the'invention, t e upper" hee? portion consists of a series of knitted courses extending across the blank with heel groups of loops at each end thereof of substantially the same length in successive courses to provide left and right upper heel areas of even width, and with the intervening instep group of loops having loops added at each end thereof in selected courses to provide an interposed instep area of progressively greater width. In accordance with the illustration, the knitting of the upper heel and interposed instep areas i s accomplished by the formation of eyelets forming lines of demarcationbetween the upper heel areas and interposed instep area which gives' the appearance of the conventionalheeltabskriitted with the ordi nary Englishtype heel.

It will be und'erstood that the novel constructlonand arrangement of the upper h'eelfar'eas with the-interposed instep area widened toward its lower end, is not limited in its application to a heel having the lower left and right heel portions knitted in accordance with the method hereinafter more specifically set forth, but may be employed with equal advantage for the construction of other types of shaped heels including, for example, a modified form of the English heel, in order to improve the fit of the heel portion of the stocking, particularly across the upper heel and instep.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention, applicant provides a lower heel structure in the form of a series of short courses knitted as continuations of the wales forming the left and right upper heels, said short courses being shortened progressively at their inner ends to form inwardly tapered gores, and providing a continuous series of terminal wale loops into which the first course of the foot is knitted extending entirely across the fabric including the left and right lower heel and instep areas. important characteristic of the heel constructed and arranged as above described, consists in the proportionately greater length as compared to width of the heel areas which compares favorably with the proportions found desirable in the conventional English or full-fashioned heel. The heel formed in this manner has the further advantage that the lower end of the heel is rounded. to fit more accurately the human foot.

Another feature of applicants heel consists in the arrangement of the gored lower heel areas which are knitted as continuations of the upper heel areas and are formed with the inner apexes thereof on the same or upon closely adjacent wales substantially in line of demarcation between the left and right upper heels and the interposed instep area. With the construction and arrangement of the heel above described, the advantages of improved fit are obtained without sacrifice of neatness in appearance, the vertically arranged dividing lines between the left and right upper heel areas and interposed instep portion together with the continuing suture lines of the left and right lower heel areas tending to mark off the fabric areas in which a manner as to obtain a close resemblance of the closed heel to the conventional and generally accepted English heel in full-fashioned hosiery.

A further feature of the invention consists in the arrangement of the upper and lower heel areas to provide a continuous and unbroken selvage wale at each edge of the fabric extending downwardly from the leg around the heel and along the length of the foot, thus insuring a tight selvage and a correspondingly neat app arance of the finished stocking.

The shaped heel above described, is knitted on a full-fashioned hosiery legger" machine in accordance with the steps of a novel and improved method of knitted shaped hosiery blanks as follows: A series of courses is knitted entirely across the width of the blank to form upper left and right heel knitted areas at each side of the blank and an area of instep fabric therebetween. End groups of left and right heel wale loops of such size to produce heels of the desired width are transferred or moved outwardly of the needle series in selected courses, loops being added in said courses at each side of the instep area to form upper heel areas of even width and a progressively widened instep area interposed therebetween. A small number of strengthening courses without widening are preferably knitted entirely across the fabric. Thereafter series of short courses are knitted at each side of the fabric to form lower heel areas as continuations of said upper heel areas. In the preferred form of the invention illustrated, the knitting of the lower heel areas includes the steps of knitting series of lower heel short courses successively shortened at their inner end to form a plurality of inwardly tapered gores having their'inner apexes substantially in line with the lines of demarcation between the upper heel areas and interposed instep fabric. The foot is then knitted across the entire width of the fabric including the terminal wale loops forming the last lower heel gores and upon the terminal wale loops of the interposed instep area referred to.

With the objects in view as above noted, the several features of the improved shaped heel fabric forming the subject-matter of the present invention, together with the steps of using applicant's improved method, will be readily understood by one skilled in the art from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a diagrammatic view of the seamed stocking illustrating the heel and adjacent ankle and foot portions, and with structural features shown in diagrammatic form; Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view showing the loop formation in and around the inner heel corner of the stocking illustrated in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 illustrates on an enlarged scale an alternative form of loop structure provided by the knitting of successively shorter and thereafter of successively longer courses for the formation of adjacent lower heel gores.

Referring specifically to the drawing, Fig. 1 shows the lower end of the leg portion of the blank designated at [0, and an ankle portion I2 with a reinforced or spliced heel area outlined by the heavy line 14. While for convenience of illustration the illustrated stocking is shown in its seamed form, it will be understood that the blank when spread out prior to seaming, comprises the left side portion specifically illustrated in Fig. 1, and a symmetrically formed right side ortion of opposite face. The heel is formed with a pair of left and right upper heel areas rectangular in shape, of which the left hand heel area is shown at [6. Each of these heel areas is composed of a series of parallel wales and with the same number of loops in successive courses. Interposed between the two heel areas is an area of insterp fabric [8 which is formed by continued knitting entirely across the fabric during the formation of the upper heel areas. The instep area 18 is widened toward its lower end by the addition of loops along the outer edges of the instep area between the instep fabric and the upper heel areas. This widening is accomplished by stepping the loops of the courses forming the upper heel area 16 outwardly for the knitting of successive courses, thus forming an additional triangle 20 of instep fabric, and producing a series of eyelets which form a line of demarcation 22 between the upper heel area I6 and the interposed instep area I8.

Following the knitting of the upper heel areas, a number of full courses are knitted entirely across the fabric, producing an area 24 which is effective to strengthen the fabric along the line of demarcation between the heel and instep fabric areas. Thereafter, first left and right lower heel gores 26 are knitted. The gores 26 are formed by the knitting of heel fabric courses successively shortened at their inner ends, while knitting is suspended across the instep and on the successively idled needles employed in knitting the gore. Thereafter, left and right lower heel gores- 23: are knitted, starting on each heel with afirstlong. heel fabric course. extending over all of the." active and. idled' needles previously employedin-knitting the lower heelv gores 25: The gores 28 are formed by the knitting of series of courses successively shortened at' their. inner ends.

In the preferred form of the invention, the gores 2.6 and 28 areformed with-the pointed in-. ner endsrterminating; on-the same or closely adjacent: wales which are substantially in alignment with the'line of demarcation separatin the upper'heel area It from the interposed instep area l8; In the embodiment shown, the first long course. of each of the genes 26 and 28- isknitted into the terminal wale loops of all; the wales forming theupper heel area I t.- It willEbe-understood thatif. so. desired; a'third and. similar, left and right lower heel gore'may be added to the" gores'28, so that the terminating line, 30 of the last" gore extends: vertically downwardly, and forms-a straightline continuation'of the. vertical: line of demarcation 22. as indicatedin dot-anddashlines in Fig. 1.

Following the completion of the lower heel gores, thefoot fabric is knitted. The first course of foot fabric indicated at 32 in Fig. 1 for-a two gored heeLextends-entirely across the fabric and isknitted into the terminal wale loops of all the heel. and instep fabric wales. During the subsequent knitting of the foot 35 which may be of ordinary description, thefabric isnarrowed at its outeredges in the usual manner, forming the narrowing marks 3% in accordance with the usual practice.

Valuable. characteristics of. the heel fabric construction above described, consist in the more ac-- curate fit which is obtained asv a result inpart of. the increasedwidthtofi the total: width of fabric through the upper. heeli and interposed instep: portions; and; the rounded. heell. portion. which. follows more closely than the English heel the. shape of: the humanheel. A- heel formed: in this manner. has the. advantage from the: point of view offstyle. thatitclosely resemblesithe' conventionalfull-fashioned heel. in. appearance; In. this 1 re spect. the. heel formediwiththe: third gore is. even more. advantageous: than. that formedz wit-h. the two gores, in that the vertical heel lineal-2'.- is: continued by the suture line as without any break; and: in the. same direction to. the bottom of the heel. The increased amount of fabric provided by the rounded portion -of the heelcomb'ined with the correspondingly shortened foot fabric tends to-eliminate" any tendency whichlmight'otherwise exist-for'th'e fabric to-climbaround theheelior to form puck'ersin that' porti'on' of the stocking a-bo've the-ballof the heel. A further-advantage in the present construction consists in the fact that: the" same selvage: waleindicated by the line 3-1 inFi'g- 1- is continued from: the leg and ankie portions of the blank indicated at and l2 respectively, downwardly through the upper heel area l8 and around the gored heel areas it and 28 into the foot 36' without interruption, thus providing a. firm and unbroken selvage: edge along. the fullf. length: of: the fabric. blank While: the several features of the invention: have been illustrated in a: preferred form in. the three figures of: the drawings; itw-ill be:under'-- stood that substantial changesmay bet-made in the proportionsiofthe several knitted areas form-'- ingv the heel; and" further that these areas may: be formed with other disposition: of the knitted loops within the scope of the invention. It willbe evident, for example, that other typesand.ar-- rangements of gores' may be employed in: the: knittlng of .thelower heels. Fig;.3, for example;

illustrates an alternative type'of. gore formation in which the upper gored fabric indicated at.38'

is formed with courses which are successively shortened-at their inner ends, and a second gore- 46 is then added thereto produced with an initial short course and following courses which are successively lengthened at'their inner ends. relatively pronounced eyelet formation is produced along the suture line between the two gores' formedin this manner as indicated in Fig. 3.

In accordance with the invention, a novel method of knitting the shaped stocking blank embodying the improved heellstmctureaboveidescribed is provided, whichi's" well adapted: to be carried. out on standard commercial. types of full-fashioned legger hosiery machines which may be either of the multiple section or? single: section type. For the knitting of the. gored lower: heels, while knitting is suspended on interven.--

ber of parallel needle wales included in each of the left and right heels respectively. These narlOWll'lg point units are employed in the knitting of the upper heels to step or transfer the groups of needle wale loops progressively outwardly during the knitting of successive upper heel fabric courses, while corresponding numbers of loops are added to the intervening groups of instep loops by knitting upon the needles left empty by the successive transfer operations. During the knitting of the lower heels, the narrowing point units are operated as beard closing elements in cooperation with the active heel needles knitting the lower heel gores. During the knitting of'the lower heel gores, the needle series if maintained in an abnormally advanced position out of engagement with the usual press edge in order tothe narrowing point units inwardly andoutward-- ly the desired ninnber of'needle indexes and inthe desired relation to: the knitting cycle of the machine for the performance of eachof'the leoptransfer and knitting functions.

The steps of applicants rnethodof knitting the hosiery blank embodying the shapedheel above described, are as follows: It is assumed that the knitting of the lower-leg proceeds in the usual.

manner with main and splicing carriers producing respectively the ankl'eportion l2 and reinforced portion [:3 until the line t! of'F'ig. 1 is This line marks the end of the-ankle and the beginning of'the upper heel. The upperheel areas lfilmay be formed with" the same yarn. carriers employed-imtheknitting: of the preceding:

reached.

spliced ankle portion l2, or if so desired, an additional splicing yarn may be employed to reinforce these parallel upper heel portions. During the knitting of the upper heel areas l6, yarn is being advanced to all of the needles across the instep of the fabric to form the interposed instep area [8. During the knitting of successive courses, all of the loops between the outer selvage edge of the fabric and the demarcation line 22 are transposed outwardly two indexes in a widening operation performed with conventional narrowing point fingers and associated narrowing machine devices, and this operation is repeated preferably at every second course to form the eyelets 42 of Fig. 2. The outward stepping of the loops forming the heel area has the effect of gradually widening the interposed instep area E8 to the terminating point provided by line 4444.

After the course 4 l-44 has been knitted, in the preferred form of the invention illustrated, four or more courses are knitted across the entire width of the fabric without interposed outward fabric transfer. The fabric area 24 thus provided, serves to strengthen the heel corner.

The machine is now conditioned for the knitting of the lower heel gores, the in-and-out motion of the needle bar knitting cycle being altered to prevent engagement of the needles with the usual press edge, the narrowing point units being conditioned to operate as beard closing elements in cooperation with selected heel needles, and the racking devices for imparting stepping movements to the narrowing point units and to the usual inner and outer carrier stops being conditioned for the heel knitting operation. Inasmuch as the details of the actuating and control mechanism for performing the several operations above briefly described, form specifically no part of the present invention, and are fully set forth in the copending application referred to, no specific illustration or description thereof is included herewith.

The knitting of the first lower heel gore 26 at each side of the fabric proceeds with the knitting of a first long heel course connecting the terminal wale loops of all of the heel fabric wales contained within the areas 16 at each side of the fabric; Short course carriers are used for this operation, one on each side of the fabric. For the knitting of the first long course of each of the left and right lower heel gores 28, assuming a traverse of the yarn carriers and slur cock from left to right, both narrowing point units will have been moved inwardly into operating position, and a selected carrier for the formation of the right heel gore will have been moved inwardly into position to feed yarn to the active right heel needles during this first traverse. During the subsequent knitting, the narrowing point units are stepped outwardly one index for the knitting of each succeeding course. The inner yarn carrier stops associated therewith. are moved outwardly two indexes after each alternate course. At the completion of the first lower heel gore 26 at each side of the fabric, the narrowing point units are moved rapidly inwardly again to their knitting inward position, and the inner carrier stops are correspondingly adjusted to permit the inward traverse of the short course carriers to form the first long course of the second lower heel gore 28 at each side of the fabric. The knitting of the lower heel gores 28 now takes place, this operation being in every respect a duplicate of the operation previously described for the knitting of gores 26.

If so desired, a third gore also may be knitted in the same manner enclosing the space indicated in Fig. 1 between the dot-and-dash line 30 and the suture line of gore 28. At the completion of the knitting of the heel gores, the machine is again conditioned for knitting in the normal manner, the inner carrier stops being withdrawn from operation, the normal in-and-out knitting motion of the needles being restored, and the narrowing point units being conditioned for the performance of the foot narrowing operation.

Thereafter, a first foot course indicated at 32 is knitted, extending entirely across the fabric and including all of the held loops on the heel and instep needles to form the first course of fabric. It will be understood that if so desired, a third gore identical with gores 2B, 28 may be provided, filling in an additional section of the heel extending to the dot-and-dash line 3 3 in Fig. 1. In the event that the third gore is added, the foot fabric will be correspondingly shortened to maintain a proper balance between the several fabric areas comprising the stocking blank.

While the steps of applicants method are well adapted to be carried out upon the full-fashioned legger hosiery machine provided with the mechanisms and control devices above referred to, it will be understood that the method is not limited in its application to any particular machine, and that other devices may be employed particularly for the knitting of the gored lower heels within the scope of the invention.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiment shown, and that various deviations may be made therefrom without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A knitted stocking blank comprising with an ankle portion, a heel portion comprisin left and right upper heel areas with an instep area interposed therebetween of the same length with said upper heel areas, said upper heel areas and instep area being shaped to provide a combined upper heel and interposed instep area wider toward its lower end, and lower heel areas comprising inwardly tapered gores formed of short courses of varying length extending inwardly and providing continuous selvage edges with the upper heel areas.

2. A knitted stocking blank comprising with an ankle portion, a heel portion comprising left and right upper heel areas with an instep area interposed therebetween of the same length with said upper heel areas widened toward its lower end to provide a combined upper heel and interposed instep area wider toward its lower end, in which combined area thread is knit across the upper heel areas and the instep area, and lower heel areas formed as continuations of said upper heel areas by continued knitting with separate threads.

3. A knitted stocking blank comprising with an ankle portion, a heel portion comprising left and right upper heel areas having parallel wales extending the length thereof to provide areas of substantially rectangular shape, an interposed instep area of the same length with said upper heel areas and of gradually increasing width, said upper heel and instep areas being formed with thread knitted across the upper heel areas and instep area, and left and right lower heel areas formed as extensions respectively of said upper heel areas by continued knitting with separate threads.

4. jlliknitted stocking blank comprising with an ankleportion, a heel portion comprisingleft and right-upper heel areas having parallel wales extending the length thereof to produce areas of substantially rectangular shape, an interposed instep area of the same length with the upper heel areas and of gradually increasing width and with series of eyelets forming lines of demarcation between said'upper heel and interposed instep areas, saidupper'heel and instep areas being formed with thread'knitted across'the upper heel areas and insteparea, and left and rightlo'wer heel areas formed as extensions respectively of said upper heel areas by continued knitting with separate threads.

5. A knitted stocking'blank comprising with an ankle portion, a heeliportion consisting ofJaseries 'of "knitted courses extending across the .blank with heel groups of loops at 'each end thereof stepped outwardly in selected'courses to'fprovide left'and right upperheel areas vof 'even width, with intervening groups of loops "having loops added at each end thereof in next following courses to provide an interposed instep area of the same length with the upper heelareas and of increasing width and'with series of eyelets forming 'lin'es'of demarcation between said upper heel areas and interposed instep area,'said upper heel and instep areas being formed with thread knitted "across the upper heel areas and instep areafaridseries of short courses'at each sideof the fabric knitted "with separate threads and forming 'leitand right lower 'heelareas.

6. A knitted stocking blank comprisingwithian ankle portion,"a'heel'portionconsisting ofa series of "knitted "courses extending across the blank with -heel groups of loops at each end thereof stepped'outwardly in selected courses to provide ,thread'knitted across the upper wheel areas and .ins'teparea, gored lower heel areas formed as a continuation or the upper "heel areas by con tinued ,knitting with separate threads, and a ffoot area ,connected by course Zknittin across'sai'd lower gored heel and Tinterposed instep area.

-10. (A rknittedvstocking blank comprising an ankleportion, left and right upperheel'arasof rectangular shape,,and aninterposedinstep area, of -same. length ,Withsaid 11pper. he1 .areas and wwidened toward its lower end, said .upper left'and right upper heel areas of even width,

and with the instep group .of loops therebetween having loops added at the ends thereof in the next following courses to provide an interposed instep area of increasin width and withseries of eyelets forming lines 'of demarcation between said upper heel areas and interposed instep areas, and inwardly tapered gored lower heel areas knitted from said heel groups of loops.

'7. A' knitted stocking blank comprisin with an ankleportio'n, a heel portion comprising aseries of knitted courses extending across the blank with end groups of'heel loops stepped outwardly in selected coursesto provide upper heel areas of substantially ieven width, and with intervening instep groups of loops having loops progressively added at each endthereof in the next following coursesto provide an intervening instep areaof increasing width, and with series ofeyelets separating said upper heel and interposed instep areas, aiplurality of courses of the samev length extending across the blank, and series ofrshort courses forming inwardly tapered gored lower heel areas knitted from said upper heelgroups. of loops.

8. A knitted stocking blank comprising with an ankle portion, a'heel portion comprisin ileftiand right upper heel areas of substantially even width, an interposed instep area of the same length with the upper heel areas and widened towards its lower end, said upper heel and instep areas being formed with thread knitted across the upper heel areas and instep area, leftand'right lower heel areas formed as'a continuation of the upper heel areas by continued knitting with separate threads, and a foot portionconnecting with said interposed instep portion and lower heel areas.

heel..and instep areas ,heing formed-with thread knitted across the upper heelareaseand instep area, ,gorediheel areas iormedasa continuation of the upper Z heel .areas .by continued knitting with-sep ratethreads, and a foot area-connected by kkni'tting ,across said .gored heel and 'ins'tep areas.

lllqh .knitted .stocking blank comprising an ankle portion, leftandright. upper heel :areas of substantially even .width, 'eachfformedof aseries of parallel 'wales, ,anlinterposed :instep zarea v.between.,s'aid .upperheeL-areas of thersame length with said .npper heel areas .and ,of increasing width ,toward' its lower rend, .gored ,lower heel areaslformed oflinwardlyextending.short. courses of ivaryinglleng-th, and .a 1fOGt ,area connected across said ,gored heel areas and said interposed instep ,area, .and withwthe same .selvage wales formingtheselvage,edgesrof-theanklathehpl er heel areas, the .gored heel areas, and ,the foot area.

'12. A knitted stocking .blank comprising an ankle portion, left and right vupper lheel i-a'reas of ,oblongshapeformed of a series otparallel wales and with theisame nuniberofLloops inQsucssive'; courses, an interposedflinstep.area of the same. length ,withsaidupper heellareasand composed ofiintervening groupsof loopsrof progressively increasing nu'rnber -i-n followingy-courses and with .aseries o'f ,eyelets fOrming'a line .of demarcation between-said. instep and upper heel areas, said upper heel-and'instep areas being formedwith'. threadknitted acrossthe upperheel areas .and instep area, gored heel areas (formed a as a. continuation ,ofrsaidllpper heel areas by continuedjknittingiwith 'separatethreads, and afoot area connected byjknitting across said gored heel areas and insteparea.

'13. nemcmmanm comprising an ankleportion,- lf,t.-andiright upper heellareas of,rec,i;ang ular. shape comprising a ,number of parallel. wales providing .groupsof lloops in .snccessivecourses of equal: length,.,an instep .area. otgradually increasing width-toward itslower end composed of intervening groups of .loops of progressively greater number in following vcourses, .lower heel areas-1 forming. a, continuation, of nsaidiupper; ,heel areas composed oflanplurality oinward1y, tapered gores hav-ing ,itheir apexes terminating substan-- tiallyuponlthe line of-juncture of the upperaheel areas. andainter-posed instep area; anda} foot area connected by knitting withisaid lowereheel and n te a ea I 143A knitted stocking blank vcomprising.,with anankleportion, aseriesof courses. knitted across th'e'blank'from said ankle portion having end groups of loops of substantially the same number in following courses to form left and right upper heel areas of substantially even width and an interposed instep area of progressively greater width with series of eyelets forming lines of demarcation between said upper heel and interposed instep areas, inwardly tapered gored lower heel areas knitted as continuations of said upper heel areas, each comprising a series of three left and three right lower heel gores, each said gore comprising a first short course extending inwardly from the selvage edge of the blank, and following courses successively shortened at their inner ends, and a foot portion connected by knitting to the gored lower heel and interposed instep portions providing a line of demarcation between the gored lower heel and foot which is substantially a parallel continuation of said line of demarcation between the upper heel and interposed instep areas.

15. The method of knitting the heel portion of a shaped hosiery blank, which comprises knitting a series of courses entirely across the blank, transferring left and right end groups of terminal upper heel wale loops of the same number in selected courses of said series outwardly, and adding loops to the intervening group of loops in following courses to form upper heel areas of even width and a progressively widened intervening instep area, and knitting short left and right lower heel courses from the terminal wale loops of the upper heel areas while holding the terminal loops of intervening inactive wales.

16. The method of knitting the heel portion of a shaped hosiery blank, which comprises knitting a series of courses entirely across the blank, transferring left and right end groups of termi nal upper heel wale loops of the same number in selected courses of said series outwardly, and adding loopsto the intervening groups of loops in following courses to form upper heel areas of even width and a progressively widened intervening instep area, and knitting series of short left and right lower heel courses of successively varying length at their inner ends while holding the instep and inactive heel terminal wale loops.

17. The method of knitting the heel portion of a shaped hosiery blank, which comprises knitting a series of courses entirely across the blank, transferring left and right end groups of terminal upper heel wale loops of the same number in selected courses of said series outwardly, and adding loops to the intervening group of loops in following courses to form upper heel areas of even width and a progressively widened intervening instep area, knitting a first left and right lower heel short course upon the terminal wale loops of said upper heel areas, and knitting from each short course a series of short courses progressively shorter at their inner ends while holding instep and inactive heel terminal wale loops to form a lower heel gore, thereafter knitting an initial left and right second lower heel gore short course upon all of said left and right heel terminal wale loops, and knitting from said second lower heel gore short course a series of left and right heel gore courses successively shorter at their inner ends while holding instep and inactive heel terminal wale loops to form the second left and right lower heel gores.

18. The method of knitting the heel portion of a shaped hosiery blank, which comprises knitting a series of courses entirely across the blank,

transferring left and right end groups of terminal upper heel wale loops of the same number inselected course of said series outwardly, and adding loops to the intervening group of loops in following courses to form upper heel areas of even width and an intervening instep area of progressively greater width, and thereafter knitting a series of left and right lower heel gores, which comprises for each left and right lower heel gore, knitting a first left and right lower heel short course of a length extending from the selvage edges inwardly upon substantially the number of terminal wale loops of said upper heels, and thereafter knitting a series of short left and right lower heel courses progressively shortened at their inner ends while holding the instep and inactive heel terminal wale loops.

19. The method of knitting the heel portion of a shaped hosiery blank, which comprises knitting a series of courses entirely across the blank, transferring left and right end groups of terminal upper heel wale loops of the same number in selected courses of said series outwardly, and adding loops to the intervening groups of loops in following courses to form upper heel areas of even width and an intervening instep area of progressively greater width, and knitting series of short left and right lower heel courses of successively varying length at their inner ends while holding the instep and inactive heel terminal wale loops, and knitting a first course of foot fabric across the width of the blank upon all of the left and right heel and instep terminal wale loops.

20. The method of knitting the heel portion of a shaped hosiery blank, which comprises knitting a series of courses entirely across the blank, transferring left and right end groups of terminal upper heel wale loops of the same number in selected courses of said series outwardly, and adding loops to the intervening group of loops in following courses to form upper heel areas of even width and an intervening instep area of progressively greater width with eyelets forming a line of demarcation between said upper heel and interposed widened instep fabric areas, knitting a plurality of plain courses entirely across the blank, and thereafter knitting left and right lower heel gores which consists in knitting series of left and right lower heel short courses extending inwardly from the selvage edges of the blank of varying length including knitting the longest short course of each gore to form the apex of said gore substantially in line with said line of demarcation holding the instep and inactive heel terminal Wale loops, and thereafter knitting a first course of foot fabric entirely across the blank upon all of the lower heel and instep terminal wale loops.

21. A knitted stocking blank comprising with an ankle portion, a heel portion consisting of a series of knitted courses extending across the blank with heel groups of loops at each end thereof stepped outwardly in selected courses to provide left and right upper heel areas of even width, and with the instep group of loops therebetween having loops added at the ends thereof in the next following courses to provide an interposed instep area of increasing width, and with series of eyelets forming lines of demarcation between said upper heel areas and interposed instep area, and gored lower heel areas comprising a plurality of similar inwardly tapered gores knitted from said heel groups of loops, each of said gores consisting of an initial long course and a REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,652,849 Weissbach Dec. 13, 1927 1,782,007 Le Gorre Nov. 18, 1930 2,031,432 Sickerott Feb. 18, 1936 Number 10 Number Name Date Roder Sept. 2, 1941 Cobert Sept. 28, 1943 Goodman Jan. 25, 1944 Boedeker Apr. 25, 1944 Woodcock Sept. 25, 1945 Richter Mar. 5, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Germany Oct. 18, 1904 Germany June 18, 1921 

